Camila Domonoske

White House officials say the U.S. intelligence community is confident that Syrian President Bashar Assad attacked his own people with chemical weapons on April 4 — and that an alternate explanation offered by Russia is an effort to deflect blame and "confuse the world community."

Senior administration officials "suggested that the attack may have been motivated by rebel gains in the surrounding area, as rebel forces approached a strategic Syrian air base," NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has resigned after pleading guilty to abusing his office, allegedly to conceal an affair with a political adviser.

Supernumerary District Attorney Ellen Brooks announced Monday that Bentley "pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges: failing to file a major contribution report, in violation of Code of Alabama §17-5-8.1(c); and knowingly converting campaign contributions to personal use, in violation of Code of Alabama §36-25-6." She added, "He has resigned from office."

Passengers on a United Express flight from Chicago to Louisville, Ky., were horrified when a man was forcibly removed — violently wrenched from his seat and physically dragged down the aisle — apparently to clear a seat for airline staff. Videos of the scene have prompted calls to boycott United Airlines.

On Twitter, a representative of the United said the flight in question was "overbooked" and that "one customer refused to leave."

Twitter has dropped a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, saying the demand that prompted the suit — that Twitter reveal the anonymous user behind an "alt-gov" account — has been withdrawn.

The original lawsuit, filed by the social media giant on Thursday, alleged that DHS had demanded that Twitter reveal the user behind "@ALT_uscis," an account allegedly run by current and former Citizenship and Immigration Services employees.

A suspect in Friday's truck attack in Stockholm has been arrested, according to a Swedish prosecutor.

Police in Sweden say the man they have arrested is "likely" the driver of a truck which drove into pedestrians on a major shopping and tourist street in Stockholm, causing multiple injuries and fatalities.

Autopsies of victims of a deadly attack in Khan Shaykhun, Syria, show they were killed by chemical weapons, Turkey's Health Ministry says.

The Turkish government says dozens of victims were treated across the border in Turkey, and several died. Their autopsies revealed evidence of exposure to sarin, the government said Thursday.

Also on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said "it would seem" there is no role for Syrian President Bashar Assad to continue governing his country and that efforts are "underway" to build a coalition to remove him.

A federal judge in Arkansas has blocked the execution of one of eight death row inmates scheduled to die later this month, saying the schedule set by the state doesn't allow enough time for the inmate's clemency petition to proceed.

On Wednesday, a parole board recommended that the inmate in question, Jason McGehee, be granted clemency. The final decision on clemency is up to Gov. Asa Hutchinson, but U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. ruled that the state needed to allow a 30-day comment period.

Investor Warren Buffett is the new face of Cherry Coke, at least in China.

The billionaire CEO of Berkshire Hathaway is fond of the beverage — photos from shareholder meetings show him sipping on the soda year after year. He's also a major investor: Berkshire Hathaway is the biggest shareholder in Coca-Cola.

The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has resigned after being investigated for potentially disclosing confidential information to a Wall Street analyst in 2012.

Jeffrey Lacker, who led the bank in Virginia for more than a decade, did not admit to directly revealing information about policy options being considered by the Fed. But he said in his resignation letter that his actions during a phone interview with the analyst were inconsistent with Fed policy.

The NCAA is bringing sporting events back to North Carolina after state lawmakers repealed large portions of the controversial "Bathroom Bill" — although the collegiate sports organization isn't exactly enthused about the deal.

In a statement on Monday, the group says its governors reached their decision "reluctantly."

That law, which was passed more than a year ago, required transgender people to use bathrooms corresponding to the sex on their birth certificate and blocked cities and counties from passing protections for LGBT people, among other things.

A federal judge has approved a $25 million settlement deal between President Trump and students who paid for Trump University real estate seminars, bringing lengthy litigation to a close.

The deal, which calls for Trump to reimburse the students who say they were defrauded, was struck in November but needed approval from U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel. He signed off on the settlement Friday in San Diego.

Faced with an expiring supply of a controversial sedative, the state of Arkansas plans to execute eight men over 11 days — a pace that is unprecedented in recent U.S. history and that has been criticized by lawyers and former corrections officials.

The state is set to carry out the executions two a day on four days between April 17 and April 27. Multiple lawsuits have been filed over the schedule, citing concerns about the speed. Arkansas' governor and attorney general say the deaths will bring closure to victims' families.

Two anti-abortion rights activists who covertly recorded themselves discussing fetal tissue with Planned Parenthood staff are facing felony charges in California, for allegedly violating state law by filming people without their permission.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced the charges against David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt on Tuesday, saying the state "will not tolerate the criminal recording of confidential conversations."

The head of the House Intelligence Committee secretly went to the White House grounds to meet with a source, before he surprised his colleagues by briefing the president — and the press — on information they hadn't seen.

The revelation, first reported by CNN and later confirmed by a spokesman for the chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes, is the latest twist in the strange saga of Nunes' unorthodox actions last week.

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has volunteered to testify before the House Intelligence Committee, as turmoil within the committee continues and the future of the investigation into Russia's attempts to interfere with the election sunk deeper into doubt.

The outlook for a key congressional investigation into potential ties between President Trump and Russia's election meddling remained in doubt Thursday, after an unusual, high-profile flap involving its top two members.

On Tuesday morning, the Department of Homeland Security announced new restrictions for personal electronics on direct flights to the U.S. from 10 airports in the Middle East and North Africa. Devices larger than a cellphone will not be allowed in the cabin, though they will be allowed in checked baggage.

Later Tuesday, the U.K. announced it would be enforcing a similar rule — using a slightly different list of countries.

The rule change in both countries was unexpected and the explanations for it cryptic.

At an hours-long public hearing on Monday, FBI Director James Comey confirmed that his agency is investigating possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia, and he pushed back against President Trump's allegations that he was wiretapped by former President Barack Obama.